Chapter 14 – Return From A Dream

Somewhere else…

Tifa Lockhart was walking through a large field that stretched on for as far as the eye could see. A soft breeze tousled her long jet-black hair, and as she walked on, she caught sight of a figure in the distance, a mere dot on the horizon.

Tifa quickened her pace, slowing down only when she was close enough to see that it was a girl, not much older than she was, dressed all in pink with her wavy brown hair tied in a high ponytail. The girl turned, and Tifa saw that she had green eyes. "Hello, Tifa," the girl said quietly.

The raven-haired girl blinked in surprise. "You know who I am? How?"

Her companion smiled gently. "It's me, Aeris."

"Aeris? I don't know any Aeris," Tifa said, taking a step back.

"Oh, that's right. Your memory was never restored when the spell was lifted…"

"My…memory?"

Aeris nodded. "Your real memories."

"Real…" Tifa whispered.

The brunette took a step closer. "Yes, the ones Sephiroth took from you."

"Sephiroth...he isn't…my father, is he?"

"No, he isn't."

Tifa closed her eyes and pressed her fingers against her forehead, a soft sigh escaping her lips. "Then…he killed my real father?"

"Yes."

"So…what Cloud said was true after all…"

"Do you want to go back to him?"

"I don't know…"

"He's calling you."

"Calling…?"

"Can't you hear his voice?"

She nodded slowly. "Yes, I can hear him…but why? He isn't here…why does his voice still reach me?"

"His voice reaches you…because he is in your heart," Aeris replied softly.

Tifa's heart fluttered. "In my heart…" she whispered, Cloud's face appearing in her mind's eye.

"Cloud…who is he, exactly? To me?" Tifa asked, her dark eyes staring questioningly into Aeris' green ones.

"He's your most important person. Don't you remember? That voice? He's called for you even in his dreams."

"I don't understand…why would he still want me back? After all I've done to him, how could he possibly still care about me?"

Aeris smiled. "Because he doesn't just care about you. He loves you. He cares about nothing in this world more than he does you."

Tifa took a hasty step back, her dark eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Why should I believe you? I don't even know you!" she stated, her eyes sharp and her voice filled with unhidden skepticism.

Aeris only smiled and reached out to her friend. "Take my hand. I'll help you remember."

"…No."

"Take my hand. Don't worry, I don't bite."

Slowly, hesitantly, and without taking her eyes away from Aeris', Tifa placed her hand in hers.

"That's good…now I'll give you back your true memories."

With the others

"Is he going to be alright?" Yuffie asked as she crouched down beside Reeve who had just finished dressing Cloud's wounds.

"I think he'll be fine...physically, anyway." Reeve answered, his gaze shifting to the raven-haired girl who lay beside the unconscious Cloud before returning to Yuffie. "How's Vincent?"

"He's a little shaken up, but he'll be fine; he's in better shape than either of these two. He'll wake up soon enough."

"That's good."

"I can't believe this happened," Barret muttered, his tough demeanor all but disappearing.

Cid knelt beside Tifa's heavily bandaged body and felt for her pulse; it was weak and somewhat erratic. "This doesn't look good," he muttered, "her pulse is weakening."

Cloud's POV

Just then, Cloud started to stir. Opening my eyes, I saw several worried faces hovering over me…everyone, even the barely conscious Vincent's…but the one face I most desperately wanted to see was nowhere to be seen. The first words out of my mouth were, "Where is Tifa?"

My friends looked at each other, seemingly unsure of themselves. "Guys, where is she?"

Finally Vincent spoke, his voice a lot less calm than usual, "She's right beside you, Cloud."

I turned, and she was there, just as Vincent said. Her tranquil face was pale and her lips were dry and chapped; a far cry from the vibrant beauty of the woman I loved – but that was her, and my heart contracted painfully at the sight of her in such a state.

I reached for her, ignoring the sharp stab of pain in my side as I took her hand in mine. "Tifa…baby, can you hear me?" I asked quietly, my voice cracking as I said her name. There was no reply.

I sat up, my gaze lingering on Tifa a moment longer before turning to Cid, who continued to sit beside her. "How is she? Is she going to be alright?"

The look in Cid's eyes as he replied was one I would not soon forget; it sent a shiver of fear unlike any I'd ever felt before up my spine. "It doesn't look good, Cloud. Her pulse is weak, and it's only getting weaker," he said as gently as he could.

I looked at Tifa, and then back at Cid. "Could you guys please leave us for a second?" I asked quietly.

Cid nodded and got up, motioning to the others to do as I asked as well.

Normal POV

Cloud pulled Tifa's unconscious form into his arms and brushed a stray lock of her jet-black hair away from her closed eyes, his expression softening as he continued to stare at her. She looked vulnerable; and he'd wanted nothing more than to protect her, but he'd failed. Once again, Sephiroth had been able to simply swoop down from out of nowhere and nearly took away the love of his life.

Cloud touched Tifa's cheek. It was cool, almost icy. "You're so cold…" he whispered, his worry slowly mounting into panic. "Tifa, please wake up," he pleaded, drawing her still body into his arms, resting his head against her hair. "Please wake up," he thought miserably, "if I lose you, I don't know what I'd do…"

Suddenly, when he least expected it, Tifa began to stir in his arms. He stared at her as her eyes slowly fluttered open. "T-Tifa…" he stuttered, his expression a mixture of joy and disbelief.

Tifa smiled at him from her position in his arms. "Cloud," she said, reaching up and gently running her hand along the side of his face, the smile staying on her lips.

Cloud felt hope rise in his heart at her actions, and he asked, rather tentatively, "Tifa…you remember?"

She nodded, and Cloud's heart leaped with joy. She came back to him after all.

"Aeris…she helped me remember. She gave me back my memories, Cloud."

"Aeris? But Aeris is…" he began, but Tifa placed a finger on his lips to silence him.

"Yes, she is," she whispered, knowing exactly what he was trying to say.

"But you…you weren't, were you?" Cloud asked, unable to find it in him to say the word that crossed his mind.

"No, but I came close, Cloud. Aeris healed me." she replied quietly.

Cloud suddenly pulled his girlfriend closer to him for a tight, warm hug, the fierceness of it taking Tifa by surprise. "Cloud…" she said gently, wrapping her own arms around him as tightly as her still-weak limbs would allow.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, "I couldn't protect you…I couldn't keep my promise…"

She rested her head on his shoulder and replied softly, "There's no need to apologize, Cloud. No one could have stopped what happened; and besides, it was your voice that brought me back."

He shot her a questioning look. "What do you mean?"

"Your voice," she replied quietly, "I heard you calling me."

He looked confused. "How could you possibly…?"

She smiled. "You are in my heart. No matter where I am, you will always be with me."

He smiled tentatively, understanding dawning on his features. "I'll always be with you too, then."

She looked up at him, her face radiant with the joy of simply being here with him. He looked at her and calmly leaned forward until their lips met in a slow, intense kiss that had them gasping for air.

When they finally broke apart, Tifa snuggled closer to Cloud and closed her eyes. "We're going to go after Sephiroth now, aren't we?"

"Yeah." he replied, reluctantly turning his thoughts back to the upcoming fight.

She nodded, and not a word was said until they heard a loud crash from behind them. "What was that?" Cloud muttered, immediately alert.

Suddenly, Tifa started to giggle profusely. Cloud looked at her. "What's so funny?" he asked.

She pointed to something over his shoulder and he turned to see all their friends sprawled on the floor, everyone but Vincent wearing similar embarrassed expressions. "You guys…" Cloud said, frowning, "you were spying on us, weren't you?"

They looked at each other before slowly nodding rather sheepishly. "You guys…"Cloud began, but he was interrupted before he could finish.

"Cloud, look," Tifa said, pointing to something on his right. He turned and looked, "What is that?"

"You think that's where Sephiroth is?" Yuffie asked.

"Only one way to find out," Barret said.

Cloud agreed. "Let's go find Sephiroth."

A/m: Oki, end of chapter 14. A little late, but…read and review, please? I'll update as soon as I can. Ja ne.